Talk me into buying the right amount of laptop

[ResolLaTot]

Hello Mustachians, I've been reading @MrDelane 's thread:
https://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/ask-a-mustachian/talk-me-out-of-buying-a-new-laptop/msg2367784/#msg2367784
I decided to start this new "talk me into" thread, so the OP can safely return to his "Talk me out of" thread without encountering undue temptations.

Current laptop is the corpse of an Inspiron 15z purchased in late 2013. First it slowed down. Then it would shutdown immediately when unplugged. Then began making a disturbing revving noise, even at rest. Then the cat sat on its chest as 15z slipped away. Dead, but regularly performing the miracle of charging my mpow earphones from the beyond.

First of all, I feel bad about the 15z. It died as much from neglect as old age. I should have been attentive during it's death rattle stage. Now I will have to live with losing some files, or pay for a tech support seance to see if anything can be salvaged. So it goes.

I have a technical job in data migration, but am not a technical person, more a Luddite. I don't know much about specs and equipment. Currently I use a company laptop (Lenovo Thinkpad) for all work related activity.

       I would like whatever personal laptop I buy to be powerful enough for me to study: ssis, data modeling, data warehousing etc . I want to be able to run  visual studio, dbproj, SSMS and handle whatever training DBs these tutorials require.

In reality, I never use personal equipment for work. I use it for obsessively reading the Mr. Money Mustache forum. Zooming. Trawling real estate on zillow. Or .... Typing to people.
But I came late to this career, and even after 8 years, I worry about succumbing to exhaustion, imposter syndrome, actual real incompetence syndrome... and needing a way to skill up in the event of job loss.

So now I am looking at new laptops and find myself enamored of an XPS 13 16gb/512ssd. I see one on Dell's Outlet site for $920. So after tax that's 1k. A bit more if I add a Microsoft 365 license. Do I need all that computer?
https://m.dell.com/h5/m/r/outlet.us.dell.com/ARBOnlineSales/Online/SecondaryInventorySearch.aspx?c=us&cs=22&l=en&s=dfh&sign=PXhcOSHtr1T4IOw%2fPR7UdaOocmNGDOm5JTD2cYOhrRaYZwBaOdKC2hH23zjCEYSIBWarIW%2fUi%2b2%2batYWI94luDT7zTwJ56i2ygtCDVtPmWXNjqmQy24KhgPCC86UlLw2wgcxBWIReNN7Fw3Hl6yd3WYnfknonRj5O7T9c%2f2518rwoI5QNFj9F6CGoTk%2b0BoPtI2U8gYXBC8%3d

Should someone who doesn't take great care of their gear even have such a device? Is there another line of laptops or secret cut-rate source for refurbished laptops I should be pursuing?

That was a lot. I see now this laptop decision is freighted with life-choices anxiety.  Anyone have a simple "here is what you need" suggestion?
Thank you.

[bloodaxe]

In reality, I never use personal equipment for work. I use it for obsessively reading the Mr. Money Mustache forum. Zooming. Trawling real estate on zillow. Or .... Typing to people.

If this is true, you can just use your phone, or a tablet if you need a bigger screen.

If you are finding yourself in a desparate need of visual studio and other tools to do some self eduction, I would just use your work laptop on the weekend.

[ToTheMoon]

In reality, I never use personal equipment for work. I use it for obsessively reading the Mr. Money Mustache forum. Zooming. Trawling real estate on zillow. Or .... Typing to people.

Chromebook is the easy answer to most of these situations. Inexpensive, no wait time for them to boot up, and they seem to go forever. We have three - two of them are VERY old and they work for us in 99% of computing situations. Learn to use the "free" Google ecosystem instead of Microsoft 365 and save your $$.

*Runs off before getting tar and feathered by the tech people*

[ResolLaTot]

Thanks for the replies.
@bloodaxe , yes I use my phone for a lot of these casual internet things at the moment. Not having a keyboard limits the quality of my communication and interactions.
I'm not comfortable using my work laptop for non- work activity. I should probably investigate what is ok to put on the machine. Of course, if I were to lose my job, I'd also lose the machine.

@ToTheMoon , you are right.  Whatever else I decide, I should adopt the Google ecosystem and live free!

[ChpBstrd]

When a bus driver gets off work, he does not get into another bus to drive home.
When a surgeon washes her hands at home, she does not use the hospital-grade disinfectant.
When an Olympic marathon runner is working their day job or doing household tasks, she does not wear her running shoes.

Similarly, you need equipment that will meet your requirements, but anything in excess of that is wasted money. IT equipment in particular is a notorious incinerator of cash. The more you spend, the more you will lose. The only exception to this rule might be if you purchase software with a license that cannot be migrated off the device where it was first installed. In that case, it might be worthwhile to buy something that will last at least 6-7 years.

So the key questions are:
1) Which of the softwares you plan to obtain have licenses that cannot transfer?
2) What are the minimum system requirements to run the softwares you plan to obtain?

If #1 is the snag, then sure go for the $900 used XPS, or better yet get a $4-500 desktop with the same specs. Otherwise go with the lowest specs that meet #2.

Typed from a 2009 model laptop that surfs MMM and looks at Zillow porn just fine.

[RWD]

First of all, I feel bad about the 15z. It died as much from neglect as old age. I should have been attentive during it's death rattle stage. Now I will have to live with losing some files, or pay for a tech support seance to see if anything can be salvaged. So it goes.

Salvaging data off a hard drive from a dead computer is usually pretty easy. Unless the reason the computer died was the drive itself (if that were the case it would still power on but not boot into the OS). Your laptop looks to be relatively straightforward to reach the drive (link to guide). You'll just need another computer laying around (or a friend's) and probably a SATA cable and you'll be able to get to all your data.

I've not had the best experiences with XPS laptops. I've had two at work and my brother has had another. The one my brother had developed a bulging battery that was pretty scary. My first XPS died completely after only ~3 years. My current XPS has a really annoying design where the fan keeps turning on and off. It's been a problem on these laptops for at least 5 years and Dell pretty much just says its working as designed and won't fix it.

I've been much happier with my Lenovo X1 Extreme that I purchased for myself. You probably don't need something as beefy as an XPS or X1 Extreme but definitely give some of Lenovo's lower offerings a look. My parents just got a Lenovo IdeaPad for around $500 and I know they do Zoom video calls on it.

[Proud Foot]

Look at Dell Refurbished to find refurbished Dell laptops for even cheaper prices than the Dell outlet site. Also, if you are set on getting a Dell you should look at a Latitude. You can get similar specs as the XPS for a few $hundred less.

       I would like whatever personal laptop I buy to be powerful enough for me to study: ssis, data modeling, data warehousing etc . I want to be able to run  visual studio, dbproj, SSMS and handle whatever training DBs these tutorials require.

If you are wanting to study these then you would definitely want to have a personal computer to be powerful enough to handle it.

[JLee]

The XPSs are nice machines - I had an XPS15 for a few years and quite liked it.

If you're willing to consider Mac, the new M1 systems are astonishing. I replaced my i7 XPS15 with an M1 Air and I love it. They're popping up on sale every now and again for around $900.

[ResolLaTot]

Quick update: I've asked my manager whether it is "above board" to use my company issued laptop for professional development activities. I'm waiting to hear back before making my decision.

 If nothing else, this thread has delayed a large expenditure! 

I'd like to respond more fully to the great advice offered here. Tipitty-tapping via phone is not ideal.

-RL

[alsoknownasDean]

You could probably get a budget Dell laptop that'd do the job on the Dell outlet for a reasonable price.

Something like this maybe? Not that the build quality of a low end consumer laptop is all that great.

https://m.dell.com/h5/m/r/outlet.us.dell.com/ARBOnlineSales/Online/SecondaryInventorySearch.aspx?c=us&cs=22&l=en&s=dfh&sign=PXhcOSHtr1T4IOw%2fPR7UdfEaPl8DQ%2fpe7VN8IA%2fIlsZCbDox63eF685bDBU0NAZCJlqoRTkQKawv26DN9wR6OmXs6zCEcYsF7QvjUa1mZnctUTaRh%2buYRAIFOVjPte1pWVI%2b4ta%2bFhHmqVrNckzjgqIqJ9fp06d9gdji6IJj909%2byuyz3djNwl2e21KspWRkKHj5Eb9pHcA%3d

Often times there's a provision in an employment contract that states anything done with company devices belongs to the company.

[YttriumNitrate]

Any chance your company has older laptops they are no longer using? One company I worked at replaced their employees computers every 3-4 years, and the old machines were often given away as a perk.

[reverend]

I use older CORPORATE laptops, with a penchant for the Dell Precision or Latitude series.

They're much sturdier than the consumer grade stuff, and last forever.  I am currently using a Precision M4800, but have a few Latitude Ultrabooks for other work and portability.

The old Lenovo Thinkpads (T42 and around that era) are great too.  All they need is an SSD and 16GB RAM and they'll do 99% of the stuff I need.

[JLee]

I use older CORPORATE laptops, with a penchant for the Dell Precision or Latitude series.

They're much sturdier than the consumer grade stuff, and last forever.  I am currently using a Precision M4800, but have a few Latitude Ultrabooks for other work and portability.

The old Lenovo Thinkpads (T42 and around that era) are great too.  All they need is an SSD and 16GB RAM and they'll do 99% of the stuff I need.

That's a great way to crack the nut, and I lean this exact way too, for the same reason.  Except that I strongly dislike Dell and won't own one anymore.  Had too many bad failure experiences with them, especially when I worked on them; they're increasingly cheap and junky.

There's a huge range in build quality -- an XPS or Precision is a very different machine than the cheap stuff.

[JLee]

True, @JLee , but it was the honesty thing and the way they handled their services that really turned me off--no matter which product they were pushing.

Fair enough, just disputing the cheap and junky part :)

[ResolLaTot]

OP here with an update. I am typing this on my "new to me" refurbished Dell Latitude 7480. Everyone's thoughts and experience helped me navigate analysis paralysis. Thank You.
For those who like specs:
FHD (1920X1080)
Intel Core i7 (i7-6600u)
16 GB RAM
512 GB Micron 1100 SATA (I think this is a SSD as opposed to a HDD? My receipt refs a HDD, but the listing was SSD. )
List $629
All in after tax and shipping = $696.59

 My growing desire to leave employment and recharge for a few months heavily influenced me (which, yeesh, that's a whole different thread).  The new laptop gives me plenty of performance for tuning up my data skills when the time comes. Advice on this thread helped me focus on what I actually need. I'm relieved to have made the decision.  While spending almost $700 on a laptop isn't chump change, it's not as much as I originally contemplated spending for an XPS. 

@Solomon960 , your: https://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/ask-a-mustachian/another-'recommend-a-laptop'-thread-(please-don't-hate)
provided additional clarifying information that helped me make a decision. So you will get no hate from me Solomon!!

Thank you @RWD and @Finances_With_Purpose for helping me feel better about the death of my old laptop. And @ChpBstrd, your advice simultaneously entertained and organized me. Tip of the hat to @Proud Foot  for pointing me towards Dell Refurbished.
Next steps are to get that SATA cable @RWD suggested then loot what I can off the deceased.

I'll update this thread as the new laptop performance dictates!
-RL

[ChpBstrd]

Hundreds of workers saved! Great update.

[Rusted Rose]

Glad the story ended well. I was going to go on about my little old Dell Latitude that I run Linux Ubuntu on and my aging Windoze machine I dropped an SSD in, putting the old failing HDD into an external case to get what I needed off of it. Data is often perfectly fine and recoverable as has been noted. (Aging Windoze machine, I think from 2015 if I remember correctly? is doing great with the SSD BTW. I use it pretty hard for a liberal arts-er, LOL.)

Rather glad you didn't go with the Google ecosystem. I would not call that living free...but that's my political opinion. :)

Meanwhile, instead of giving dollar$ to Micro$oft, if 365 is not an absolute requirement for some sort of client or other, may I suggest looking into Libre Office? It's FREE and meant to be quite compatible with Office. Runs on all systems AFAIK. Of course you know your needs best.